England - FA Vase Cup Finals 1975-2003

The English FA Vase was created in 1974 in place of the defunct
FA Amateur Cup, contested since 1894.
1974 was the year when the distinction between professional and
amateur clubs in England was abolished. Many clubs that have
hitherto participated in the Amateur Cup used to opportunity to
claim for themselves professional status and qualify for the
FA Trophy, although with the
introduction of the pyramid system in 1979 the FA restricted
FA Trophy eligibility to levels 5-8 of the Pyramid, which
returned many smaller clubs to the Vase.
The competition's format remained unchanged since the beginning,
with 128 teams at round 1 going through six rounds to produce
the semifinalists. The extra preliminary and preliminary rounds
were renamed qualifying round 1 and 2 beginning with 1995/96.
Until 1999 teams were given byes to preliminary and first rounds
based on their previous performances, and not on the league
they play in, like today.
The Vase is known for its high upredictability. So far it has
been won by 24 teams, 19 of them only winning it once. Only
Billericay Town have managed three wins, including two
consecutive ones, but they were all placed within four years.
Halesowen and Tiverton also managed to win it twice in a
row, although each of them also lost a final once. Brigg Town
is the only other team with multiple wins that has not lost
a final game yet.